AUTOS

Stant to Buy Firm Founded by Windshield-Wiper Inventor: The Richmond, Ind., auto parts producer said it will purchase Buffalo, N.Y.-based Trico for $160 million. Stant Corp. offered Trico stockholders $85 a share. Trico workers, reeling from the loss of 2,500 jobs in Buffalo since 1985, were optimistic as management handed around flyers announcing the buyout. Stant President David Paridy said he is optimistic about the future of the Buffalo plant. Stant, founded in 1896 to make buggy parts, went public last year, selling stock to finance acquisitions that included the purchase of Buffalo-based Fedco Automotive Components Co., which makes auto heaters. Trico was founded in 1917 by John Oishei, who invented the windshield wiper after he hit a bicyclist in a rainstorm. It remained family-owned until the 1980s.